EthnicNJ.comhttp://ethnicnj.com
Find New Jersey's Best Ethnic FoodTue, 03 Mar 2015 02:46:35 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1Mapping Jersey Diversityhttp://ethnicnj.com/mapping-jersey-diversity/
http://ethnicnj.com/mapping-jersey-diversity/#commentsSat, 22 Nov 2014 20:18:49 +0000http://ethnicnj.com/?p=11653If you live in New Jersey, you already know we live in one of the most diverse states in the country. Our ancestors hail from just about every nation you can name, and first-generation immigrants continue to arrive. One in five New Jersey residents was born outside the U.S. (only California and New York have higher percentages). Nowhere is better than the Garden State to find people from many cultures living in close proximity. That means plenty of good food to flag on the EthnicNJ map. Now EthnicNJ is mapping New Jersey’s ethnic ancestry too.

With the support of a NJ News Commons grant, EthnicNJ has added interactive demographic maps that shed light on the ethnic roots of New Jersey’s population. Three new EthnicNJ maps display ancestry and countries of birth information for each of New Jersey’s 21 counties and for 570 individual towns.

EthnicNJ maps are a resource for anyone seeking to better understand New Jersey’s rich ethnic landscape. EthnicNJ has become an indispensable tool for hungry Jersey food fans, mapping over 980 restaurants serving some fifty different cuisines. The EthnicNJ Food Map provides a unique, real-time picture of New Jersey’s ethnic communities, viewed through the lens of ethnic restaurants.

Mapping ethnic food in New Jersey reveals our state’s many ethnic enclaves. By displaying Census demographics visually on a color-coded map, you get a much clearer picture of New Jersey communities.

Use the EthnicNJ Ancestry Map to see 106 different ancestries reported by New Jerseyans, from Afghan to Yugoslavian, and where they live. The United States Census collects population data annually in its American Community Survey. Because the Census collects information about Hispanic and Asian populations separately under the category “Race and Hispanic Origin,” there is a separate EthnicNJ Hispanic and Asian Ancestry Map. “Hispanic” includes people whose ancestors hail from the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, or from Spain. Asian includes people from any of sixteen specific Asian backgrounds, from Asian Indian to Vietnamese. The EthnicNJ Place of Birth Map , which includes Asian and Latin American countries together with the rest of the world, illustrates the countries of birth of New Jersey’s substantial foreign-born population, featuring 158 different birthplaces.

If you are even a little bit of a geography geek like me, these maps are fun to explore, and a source of endless interesting demographic facts about New Jersey. Did you know, for example, that:

Jersey City, Newark and Elizabeth have the largest foreign-born populations.

Camden County is home to the largest Vietnamese community.

More Costa Ricans live in Summit than any other town.

Palisade Park’s foreign-born community is 43% Korean.

“Ellis Island in 1905″ by A. Coeffler – Library of Congress via the American Heritage website. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

EthnicNJ’s demographic maps can answer all kinds of questions about New Jersey’s population today. EthnicNJ is already using them to find the best food in New Jersey’s ethnic communities. I know Newark is the place to find excellent Brazilian food. I did not know Long Branch is now home to a significant Brazilian community. Sure enough, there are a couple of Brazilian steakhouses there that are now on my list of places to try.

Check out EthnicNJ to find New Jersey’s best food, and to see our ethnic origins, all on the map.

]]>http://ethnicnj.com/mapping-jersey-diversity/feed/0New Jersey’s Super Bowl Food Guidehttp://ethnicnj.com/new-jerseys-super-bowl-a-food-guide/
http://ethnicnj.com/new-jerseys-super-bowl-a-food-guide/#commentsFri, 17 Jan 2014 14:16:18 +0000http://ethnicnj.com/?p=11076New Jersey is hosting its first Super Bowl and hungry visitors who find themselves on this side of the Hudson are in for a treat. There’s no better place to eat well, cheaply. For a real taste of Jersey, skip the corporate hospitality tents and cruise ship hotels. Try some of the Garden State’s favorite ethnic food.

One of the benefits of living in the nation’s most densely populated state is food diversity that rivals any city in the country. Within a few miles of MetLife Stadium, in every direction, there are wonderful neighborhoods for ethnic cuisine. Head north on the NJ Turnpike for bulgogi and kimchi in Palisades Park; south for Portuguesecataplana, Brazilianpão de queijo and Spanishtapas in Newark‘s Ironbound, and biryani in Jersey City‘s Little India; east on Route 3 for Cubanlechón along Union City’s Bergenline Avenue; or west for shawarma in Paterson and ceviche in Passaic. These are just a few of the many food options. Of course, don’t forget to try some of the world’s best pizza, burgers, hot dogs and diners while you’re here.

Even if the Manhattan skyline is visible on the horizon, the first outdoor, cold weather Super Bowl XLVIII will kickoff in the swamps of Jersey. This is New Jersey’s Super Bowl after all (no matter how the event is marketed for television). If you are looking for excellent food, try some of these Jersey favorites, all less than 10 miles from the Meadowlands:

There are two iconic slider spots – Hackensack’s White Manna and Jersey City’s White Mana – within striking distance of the Meadowlands. Try Krug’s Tavern in Newark for a classic pub-style burger. Or go a little crazy and try a Brazilian burger or Peruvian sandwich.

El Unico
Chow down on heaping plates of lechón, ropa vieja, and rabo de ternera (oxtail) at this Cuban cafeteria in New Jersey’s “Havana on the Hudson.”4211 Park Avenue – Union City, NJ 07087201-864-3931

If you want to start a long, heated conversation, ask a local about their favorite Jersey pizza joint. Too many to pick just one. Trust the judgment of Pete Genovese, one of the most knowledgable Jersey food writers. Check out his recommendations here.

Polish

Piast Meats & Provisions
The Packers didn’t make it out of the playoffs, but you can still enjoy homemade kielbasa and pierogi right here in Jersey.1 Passaic Street – Garfield, NJ 07026
973-614-1315,www.piast.com/

Find these restaurants and more of New Jersey’s best ethnic food on the map at EthnicNJ.com.

]]>http://ethnicnj.com/new-jerseys-super-bowl-a-food-guide/feed/1New Jersey’s Feast of the Seven Fisheshttp://ethnicnj.com/new-jerseys-feast-of-the-seven-fishes/
http://ethnicnj.com/new-jerseys-feast-of-the-seven-fishes/#commentsTue, 24 Dec 2013 16:41:42 +0000http://ethnicnj.com/?p=11003For many Italian-American families in New Jersey, Christmas Eve means seafood. Every year in mid-December, family cooks from Bayonne to Bellmawr start to count fishes, making sure that the Holiday menu includes at least seven.

Verducci Christmas Eve dinner, 1951

Smelts

The “Feast of the Seven Fishes” (Festa dei Sette Pesci) has its roots in Southern Italy, where observant Roman Catholics abstained from eating meat or milk products on Fridays, and on the day before Holy days like Christmas. On Christmas Eve, the traditional supper was exclusively seafood, usually fried in oil. Fish is also associated with early Christians who used a fish symbol to identify themselves in times of persecution. The significance of the number seven? Religious interpretations point to the seven Sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church, the seven virtues in the Catholic catechism, and Biblical references like God resting on the seventh day. The number could also refer to the Seven Hills of Rome, or just be a lucky number. Some families feature nine, eleven or even thirteen fishes in their annual meal. Why “fishes”? Because “Seven Fishes” means seven different species of fish.

Smelts in the Pan

The great Italian migration to the United States between the 1880s and the 1930s, brought thousands of Southern Italians to the Northeast, my own ancestors among them. Their seafood feast came with them.

Mussels Marinara

My mother remembers Christmas Eve meals in the 1950s at her Grandmother’s house on Third Street in South Orange. Antoinette Verducci, the Italian-born matriarch from Calabria, prepared the meal, which always included baccalà (salt cod), mussels in a spicy marinara sauce, fried smelts and pastas with seafood sauces. The annual spread also included pizza fritta (fried dough) served with tomato sauce and zeppole (deep-fried dough balls) with powdered sugar, the highlight of the meal for my mom and her cousins. Mom avoided the smelts, a tiny fish (Osmeridae) caught in coastal estuaries.

Clams Oreganata

The Italian tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes lives on in New Jersey, and seems to have become more popular, or at least better remembered, in recent years. Restaurants across the Garden State have begun to offer the traditional Christmas Eve seafood feast in December. Younger generations are counting their fishes and rediscovering some of the seafood dishes prepared by the first generation Italian-Americans.

Pulpo (Octopus)

Italian cooking relies on fresh, local ingredients. For immigrant families with limited resources, the seafood selections in New Jersey were not fancy. Like all good cooks, Italian-Americans took what was cheap and abundant, applied familiar techniques and recipes from back home, and transformed simple food into memorable meals.

Live Eels

For decades, preparations for the Feast have begun at the local Jersey fish market. Barbera Fish Market in Atlantic City has been selling the fishes for South Jersey Italian feasts since 1919. Dominic Alcaro, who bought the market in 1985, is a first generation immigrant himself. His parents emigrated from Calabria in 1961 when he was six years old. Dominic still remembers his Grandfather walking back from the Italian waterfront with the eels, sepia (cuttlefish) and whiting for the Christmas Eve meal.

Today, Barbera Fish Market sells some of the same fish species in New Jersey, but the most popular Seven Fishes have changed over the years. Alcaro used to sell as many as 600 eels in December. These days he sells about 150. Alcaro sources them from local fisherman and offers eels both live and cooked. The fish market’s older customers order eel, baccalà, octopus and calamari to serve on Christmas Eve; younger customers prefer shrimp, flounder and seabass (branzino).

Mike Marino and Frank Montalbano

“We still sell smelt in December, but not eel,” says Mike Marino, owner of Marino’s Fine Foods, an Italian seafood market and deli in Springfield. “Cleaning the eel properly is time consuming and not enough people cook it anymore.” Mike’s father, Gasper, opened the family’s first fish market, Hillside Seafood House, in 1961. Popular Holiday items at Marino’s today are fish fillets (flounder, cod, haddock), shrimp, clams and squid.

I sat down with Mike and Frank Montalbano, who sells fish for the Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx, over a plate of fried calamari with marinara sauce. Marino’s version is very lightly breaded. The secret to good fried calamari, says Marino, is to flour it lightly without any seasoning, and fry it quickly in oil that is at least 370 degrees. “Quality squid should have a slightly salty taste on its own,” Mike assures me.

Fried Smelts

Frank swears by Marino’s version. “Nobody makes it better,” he claims. “Mike does it right.” Frank isn’t just Mike’s fish supplier, by the way. Their family roots go back to the same Sicilian fishing village of Sciacca.

Squid (Calamari)

Mike and Frank, who together have more than 80 years experience in the New Jersey fish business, question whether independent fish markets are sustainable. “Fewer people cook these days, and less people buy from specialty fish markets,” says Marino. It’s not surprising to them that restaurants are starting to offer a meal that traditionally was prepared and eaten at home. Marino’s sells imported Italian foods, has added table service, and expanded its menu beyond fish to keep up. “During the holidays, we used to stop selling prepared items to focus on fresh fish sales,” Marino recalls. “Today, catering and prepared platters are a much larger part of our business.”

According to Montalbano, at Fulton, the East Coast’s most important wholesale fish market, there’s a noticeable uptick in certain fish sales in December, items like baccalà, scungilli (marine snails) and the smelts that appear on Italian-American tables.

Fried Calamari

Every family’s fishes are different, but Garden State menus usually include a few of the Italian-American red sauce standbys like Baccalà in Tomato Sauce, Mussels in a Spicy Marinara Sauce and Fried Calamari. My grandfather insisted that fried smelts be on the table every year. Really old school families still serve Eel Stewed in Tomato Sauce (Anguilla in Umido).

Flounder Fillet

I asked Mike Marino what his family usually did on Christmas Eve. “Suffer is what we did for Christmas,” he says. “I dreaded Christmas growing up because we had to work,” Marino remembers. “From mid-December, we worked seven days a week, twenty hours a day, to get everyone their Christmas fish orders. At our house, all we do is sleep once we get home on Christmas Eve.”

Dominic Alcaro sees the Feast continuing to be “mostly a home holiday.” Alcaro’s parents continued the traditional feast in the United States, and now Dominic is the host. After the last customer picks up their Holiday fish order from Barbera Fish Market, Dominic hosts some fifty family members at his home in Gloucester, Camden County. His menu sticks to seven fishes, but Alcaro prepares each fish different ways for a total of fifteen to twenty fish dishes on the table. Baccalà salad and stew are popular in his family. Alcaro not only fries his smelts, the “easy way,” he points out, but also sautés them with tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and onion.

After feasting on all that seafood, Alcaro’s family gathers around an elaborate Nativity scene adorned with figurines carved by his father. They sing Italian Christmas songs (like Tu scendi dalle stele – “You Come Down From the Stars”) and the youngest family member places the baby Jesus in the manger at midnight. “The Feast of the Seven Fishes is all about sacrifice and giving thanks,” says Alcaro. “It’s wonderful to see the Italian family tradition live on.”

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is alive and well in New Jersey, where one in five residents claim Italian ancestry. Most Feasts will take place at homes across the Garden State this Christmas Eve. Everyone who sits down at a table laden with seven or more fishes this Holiday is sharing an Italian-American meal that represents religious tradition, local ingredients, humble food transformed, and, most likely, a memorable family gathering.

Buon Natale e buon appetito!

Feast of the Seven Fishes Menus

Old-School

Scungilli Salad

Mussels in Spicy Marinara Sauce

Fried Smelts

Flounder Fillet

Linguini with Red Clam Sauce

Baccalà (salt cod) in Tomato Sauce

Eel Stewed in Tomato Sauce

Updated

Shrimp Cocktail

Clams Oreganata

Fried Calamari with Marinara Sauce

Zuppa di Pesce (Fish Soup)

Seared Scallops

Lobster Fra Diavalo over Linguini

Whole Grilled Branzino (Seabass)

Recipe: Fried Smelts

Courtesy of Patricia Mercadante

Ingredients

Vegetable oil (for frying)

40 smelts, fresh or frozen (about 3 lbs.)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

4 lemons, cut into wedges

Preparation

If frozen, defrost the smelts. Some people fry and eat smelts whole, especially the smallest ones. Our family prefers smelts butterflied. To clean whole smelts, make a straight cut along the belly with a small knife from under the head to the tail. Turn the smelt over and cut halfway into the fish just behind the head. Pull the head down and back to remove the innards and tiny backbone. Use your fingers and running water to pull and rinse away any remaining bits. Drop each cleaned fish into a bowl of ice water.

Pour oil into a large skillet to a depth of 1”. Heat oil over medium-high heat to 350° (or until a small piece of bread dropped in the oil immediately bubbles and rises to the top).

Mix the flour, salt and pepper in a plastic bag.

Cook the smelts in batches, depending on the size of your skillet. Drain the smelts and toss about ten in the bag at a time. Shake off excess flour and drop each smelt into the oil. Stir to make sure they don’t stick together. Cook until golden brown, turning over once if necessary, 3 to 4 minutes.

Drain the fried smelts on paper towels and serve immediately with the lemon wedges. (Serves 4 to 6)

An abbreviated version of this post originally appeared as “7 Fishes” in Edible Jersey Magazine (Holiday 2013).

New Jersey is not known as a barbecue destination. Garden State BBQ spots serve up some very good renditions of the classic American styles, and this weekend Atlantic City becomes an official stop on the USA Barbecue Championship circuit, but there is no recognized “Jersey” kind of barbecue. That’s true, but barbecue is alive and well in our state’s ethnic communities. Ethnic barbecue is one of New Jersey’s best-kept secrets.

Ribs @ The Wood Pit – Montclair

“American” ethnic food includes our fiercely regional styles of United States barbecue, from Texas brisket to Kansas City burnt ends to North Carolina pulled pork. You can find some of these BBQ styles in New Jersey, at spots like the Wood Pit in Montclair, Fink’s in Dumont, and Dinosaur Bar-B-Cue next to Newark’s Prudential Center.

New Barbecue Pit – Bergenfield, NJ

Barbecue – meat cooked “low and slow” next to smoldering coals – is not exclusive to American cuisine. The real barbecue action in New Jersey is happening at our other ethnic restaurants. That “BBQ” sign you notice in the strip mall is just as likely to be a new Portuguese or Peruvian restaurant as a traditional American chicken and ribs joint. Servers roam Newark’s Brazilian rodizios with meat-laden metal skewers slicing the barbecue right onto your plate. North Bergen’s La Fusta grills all kinds of meat, even blood sausage and tripe, Argentinian-style a la parilla.

El Unico – Union City

One pork dish -“lechón” – illustrates the diverse and delicious ethnic barbecue you can find in New Jersey. From the Spanish (or Portuguese) word for milk, lechón (or leitão) originally meant roast suckling pig, prized for its mild milk-fed flavor and thin skin. The traditional cooking technique is to dig a hole, fill it with wood charcoal, and roast a butchered whole pig over the glowing embers for hours until tender. The term lechón has come to describe a wider range of roasted pork dishes, from suckling pigs to whole hogs, in different global cuisines. Whole pigs may be cooked on a spit, in a pit, or in an oven. Preparations vary, from dry rubs to wet marinades, with different spices and levels of sweetness. Every cook guards his or her own secret for ensuring moist meat, the right flavors and, usually, a crispy skin. Cubanlechón asado, Filipinolechón and Portuguese leitão are three tasty plates of ethnic barbecue worth looking for in New Jersey.

Cuban

Lechón @ El Unico – Union City

The key to Cuban lechón asado is the mojo, a paste of olive oil, salt, garlic, cumin, and citrus (sour orange or lime) that is applied to the meat before, during and/or after roasting. Whole adult pigs might be cooked in a charcoal pit or a caja china (“Chinese Box”) for special occasions, but oven roasted pork shoulder is the most common lechón you will find on Cuban menus in New Jersey. Unlike whole roasted pigs, the pork skin in this version of lechón is not crispy, but the mojo permeates everything for a moist and flavorful plate of pork.

El Unico – Union City

El Unico has been serving Cuban comfort food in Union City for forty years. The no-frills cafeteria roasts large pork shoulders daily in two pizza ovens. Doña Susy, the Ricio family matriarch running the show from El Unico’s cash register, will not divulge the exact ingredients in her family’s mojo, or even when they apply the marinade. She says every restaurant does it differently, and the mojo is the key to the meat’s flavor. Order the lechón here and you get a large portion of moist meat with a slightly sour tang. Alongside white rice or arroz moro (rice with black beans), garlicky sautéed yucca or fried sweet plantains, the five dollar plate is an incredible bargain.

La Churreria – Union City

Union City, once known as “Havana on the Hudson” for one of the most concentrated Cuban populations outside of Florida, is the spot for Cuban food in New Jersey. Two other nearby cafeterias serving fresh lechón are El Artesano and La Churreria. If the lechón happens to be sold out at either, try the ropa vieja (shredded beef). Don’t leave without a shot of intense Cuban coffee.

Filipino

Louie and Carlos Cancio

Another island nation, the Philippines, shares Cuba’s Spanish colonial heritage and its passion for lechón. Filipino lechón, sweeter than the Cuban version, is typically prepared with a spice mix featuring salt, black pepper, sugar, onion, vinegar and ground pork liver. “Cebu”-style lechón adds the flavors of lemongrass, star anise and bananas by stuffing the pig. In the Philippines, the traditional method is to cook the whole adult pig outside on a spit over burning wood. The pig is basted periodically to create the crispy ochre-colored skin that is the hallmark of a Filipino lechón.

Preparing the Lechón @ Legal Beans

Carlos Cancio was born in Pampanga, on the northern shore of Manila Bay. He worked multiple jobs after immigrating to the United States as a young man. While delivering packages for DHL in New Jersey, Carlos started experimenting with different ingredients and techniques to perfect his Filipino barbecue. He began roasting whole pigs in his garage, first in Livingston, then in Jersey City, and developed quite a loyal following. Now “retired,” six years ago, he opened the New Barbecue Pit where four of his six children are involved in the family business.

Carlos, too, will not reveal his lechón spices and tricks. You can taste the results of his self-taught barbecue education at the small restaurant with a few tables inside and a bustling take-out business. The lechón has succulent meat with chunks attached to beautifully crispy skin. It is delicious served with a side of garlic or jasmine rice. The flavor is slightly sweet, as is the lechón sauce for marinating and dipping that Carlos serves and sells by the bottle. Add a squirt of homemade chile sauce from the bottles on the table if you want it spicier. At $9 for a pound of meat, this is another ethnic barbecue bargain. While he will not divulge his secret for achieving a crispy skin on every pig he cooks, Carlos is quick to share advice and life lessons. “Failure makes you wise,” he noted while explaining his efforts to master Filipino lechón.

According to Carlos’ son, Louie Cancio, who mans the kitchen at the New Barbecue Pit, Christmas is peak season for whole lechón orders. They roast as many as sixty pigs a day for family celebrations during the Holidays, working all night long to meet the demand. The rest of the year, they make around ten pigs each weekend. Depending on the size, a thirty to forty-five pound whole pig costs between $180 and $200 dollars.

The BBQ Pit @ BBQ at Legal Beans – Jersey City

The New Barbecue Pit also serves Filipino specialties like pancit (stir-fried rice noodles), embotido (Filipino meatloaf), and lumpia (fried spring rolls). Chicken, ribs and pulled pork round out the menu for American BBQ fans. In fact, this Bergen County Filipino barbecue spot attracts mostly non-Filipino customers. Not surprising, given the Cancio family’s attention to good barbecue. What makes Filipino lechón special? According the elder Cancio, “You blend the flavors with your heart and mind.”

Portuguese

Leitao @ Coimbra – Newark, NJ

Portuguese BBQ spots are multiplying in New Jersey, with menus that feature barbecued chicken, ribs, grilled steaks, and Portuguese originals like cubed pork with potatoes (picadinho) or clams (á Alentejana).

For a special treat, find a restaurant that serves Leitão á Bairrada, whole suckling pig prepared with a paste of garlic, white pepper and pig fat rubbed over the entire pig inside and out, as is the tradition in the Bairrada region of Portugal. The result is subtly-flavored meat encrusted in super-crispy skin. The skin, much thinner on young pigs, is irresistible – glistening, crispy and a deep, reddish-ochre color. It’s all you can do to resist snapping off the tip of an ear as soon as it is within reach. The melted layer of fat between the skin and meat coats every slice of pork with even more flavor. One of the best meals I’ve had in New Jersey, or anywhere else, is the leitão from Elizabeth’s appropriately named Casa do Leitão. Sadly, the owner passed away last year and the restaurant has closed.

Leitao Bairrada

Another source for leitão, still open, is Newark’s Coimbra, conveniently located just across the Passaic River from Red Bull Arena. There is a full bar on one side and a large dining room on the other at this neighborhood spot away from the Ironbound’s main thoroughfare. If you are lucky, a leitão will have just come out of the oven. A plate goes very nicely with a bottle of Portuguese vinho verde. If the pork is still roasting, try the homemade chourico, served flaming, or the richly satisfying duck fried rice (arroz de pato).

So next time you have a hankering for barbecue, try an ethnic version. Many of your New Jersey neighbors know just where to find them.

An original version of this post appeared as “Food Geography: Ethnic BBQ” in Edible Jersey Magazine (High Summer 2013).

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]]>http://ethnicnj.com/jersey-style-barbecue/feed/0New Jersey’s Inca Food Trailhttp://ethnicnj.com/new-jerseys-inca-food-trail/
http://ethnicnj.com/new-jerseys-inca-food-trail/#commentsThu, 25 Jul 2013 19:48:08 +0000http://ethnicnj.com/?p=10674The hike to reach the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu is an arduous five-day trek along Peru’s Urubamba River. New Jersey’s Inca Food Trail starts along the Passaic and winds through six North Jersey counties. You can navigate Jersey’s Peruvian food route (by car) in just a few hours, depending on how long you linger over the heaping plates of food. You are unlikely to glimpse magnificent Andean cloud forests or the ruins of any 15th-century civilizations, but you will enjoy wonderful food.

Ceviche @ Don Julio – Elizabeth, NJ

Foodies are just catching up to a global cuisine New Jersey has had in its midst for years. Fresh seafood, grilled meats, Chinese-influenced rice dishes, Japanese-inspired ceviches, complex sauces and seemingly endless potato varieties make Peruvian one of the world’s most diverse, distinctive, and delicious cuisines. Five hundred years in the making, Peruvian menus blend indigenous foods cultivated by the ancient Incas — corn, potatoes, chilies — with the ingredients and techniques imported by waves of European, African and Asian immigrants. Signature Peruvian dishes offer something for every taste. For all of these reasons, Peru has been getting a lot of attention lately from the food press and celebrity chefs. None other than gastronomic guru Ferran Adrià, whose Spanish restaurant El Bulli many considered the world’s best before it closed to the public in 2011, has declared, “The future of gastronomy is being cooked up in Peru.” (Adrià recently opened a Japanese-Peruvian fusion restaurant, Pakta, in Barcelona.)

Anticuchos @ El Marino – Dover, NJ

New Jerseyans who know where find them have been enjoying authentic Peruvian dishes in the Garden State. More than 75,000 New Jerseyans claim Peruvian ancestry. New Jersey is home to multiple first-generation Peruvian-American neighborhoods with no-frills restaurants serving cheap and delicious Peruvian food primarily to local customers. All of these restaurants are very affordable — you can generally feed a family of five, with plenty of leftovers, for less than $60. You can eat strong versions of every signature Peruvian dish in the Garden State — except for the traditional Andean cuy (guinea pig), which I have yet to see on a Jersey menu.

Oh Calamares – Kearny, NJ

New Jersey’s Inca Food Trail runs through North Jersey’s historically industrial towns where Latino immigrants are revitalizing blue-collar neighborhoods. Start your expedition in Hudson County, home to three of the communities in the United States with the highest percentage of residents claiming Peruvian ancestry (East Newark, Harrison and Kearny). Oh! Calamares (102 Kearny Avenue, Kearny) is a popular neighborhood spot with a full bar, so you can start your meal sipping a Pisco Sour, the Peruvian national cocktail made with grape brandy (pisco), frothy egg whites and a dash of bitters. Treat the kids to an Inka Kola, the popular Peruvian soft drink that tastes like Mountain Dew with a hint of bubble gum. Choritos a la Chalaca, mussels topped with vinegar-marinated onions and Peruvian large-kernel corn, are a nice twist on traditional ceviche. Picante de Mariscos isa delicious bowl of shellfish in a creamy sauce flavored with ají amarillo, the yellow Peruvian pepper used in many dishes. The best known Peruvian potato dish is papas a la huancaina – sliced potatoes garnished with olives and hard-boiled eggs, coated in a cool, bright yellow cheese sauce mildly spiced with ají amarillo, Oh! Calamares makes a very good huancaina sauce. I prefer the spicier versions, and like it on fried yuca better than over boiled potatoes. Head north into Bergen County to Rutherford’s Sabor Peru (8 Highland Cross, Rutherford) for an excellent Yuca a la Huancaina. The heaping plate of Peruvian fried rice — chaufa — here, is also worth the trip.

El Mamut – Passaic, NJ

Cross the Passaic River for Peruvian food in the heart of New Jersey’s Peruvian community. Passaic County is home to the largest Peruvian population in the state, a Peruvian Consulate in Paterson, and dozens of Peruvian eateries. The annual Peruvian Parade in July attracts 30,000 participants to the streets of Paterson, Clifton and Passaic. According to Haledon Councilwoman Belgica Costa, a first generation Peruvian-American who grew up outside of Trujillo in Northern Peru, the Parade and festival is a good opportunity to sample Peruvian treats like picarones (squash and sweet potato doughnuts covered in syrup) and mazamorra morada(a purple corn pudding). Costa recommends Clifton’s Aji Limon (1239 Main Avenue, Clifton) for one of her favorite dishes, Pescado a lo Macho, a fish fillet served in a creamy seafood sauce.

El Chevere – Passaic, NJ

If you like rotisserie chicken, you’ll love the Peruvian version. Peruvian cooks marinate the chicken in vinegar and spices, often overnight, before roasting. Pollo a la brasa, done right, has a crisp skin, with juicy flavorful meat throughout. El Chevere (603 Main Avenue, Passaic) is the place to order a whole or half chicken a la brasa, the house specialty. The restaurant offers a comfortable, family-friendly dining room in downtown Passaic. Spanish is helpful here, but not necessary. There is a full menu of Peruvian standards, including anticuchos, the popular Peruvian street food. Adventurous eaters can try grilled skewers of marinated organ meats like beef hearts, chicken livers gizzards (mollejitas), chicken hearts, pork stomach (pancita) or tripe (rachi).

The “Especial” @ El Mamut – Passaic, NJ

Peruvian dining can be very healthy, with the abundance of seafood and nutrient-rich grains like quinoa. It can also be downright decadent, given the many fried foods and rich cheese sauces. One of the more heart unhealthy, but delicious sandwiches I’ve eaten is served at El Mamut (22 Broadway, Passaic), a tiny café and lunch counter. The “Especial” is a large soft bun filled with thick slices of fresh roasted pork, blood sausage, sliced yams and pickled red onions. Pour on the homemade rocoto chili sauce for a nice spicy kick. The “Wooly Mammoth” name and logo might be a nod to the size of all of their sandwiches, which include a pork rind sandwich and a hamburger topped with egg, bacon and cheese. Nothing on the menu costs more than $7. The line of people waiting for a seat on Saturdays often goes out the door.

El Marino – Dover, NJ

The next stop on New Jersey’s Inca Trail might surprise you. Hop on Route 80 and drive west all the way to Morris County. Dover is one of thirteen majority Hispanic municipalities in New Jersey according to the 2010 Census. Its Peruvian community eats well. El Marino (130 Mt. Hope Road, Dover), which sits unobtrusively in a residential neighborhood above downtown Dover, might be serving some of the best Peruvian food in New Jersey. The restaurant doesn’t need the endearing sign in the window — “Authenticates Peruvian Food” — to confirm the authenticity of its cuisine. Just look at the packed tables on a weekend afternoon.

Ceviche Trio @ El Marino – Dover, NJ

El Marino celebrates Peruvian seafood, with a menu emphasizing seafood soups like Chupe de Camarones – shrimp bisque served with poached eggs, fish and shellfish entrees — fried, stewed and with rice, and ten different ceviches. Peruvians are justifiably proud of their many ceviche variations – raw fish marinated and “cooked” in lemon or lime juice, flavored with chilies. Cevichede pescado (fish), mixto (with shellfish) and de camarones (shrimp) are typically served with sweet potato, large kernel Peruvian corn (choclo), and a scattering of pickled red onions. Tiraditos are thin fish slices, like sashimi, prepared the same way. In spicier versions, the ceviche marinating liquid, leche de tigre (tiger milk), can be ordered as a drink thought to cure hangovers. The Ceviche Trio at El Marino is the best ceviche I have eaten in New Jersey, an impressive plate brimming with fish, black clams (conchas negras) and assorted shellfish, all bathed in a spicy lemon broth, surrounded by boiled choclo, red onion slices, sweet potato chunks and seaweed.The fish is fresh and the flavors are spot-on Peruvian ceviche at its best.

Arroz Chaufa Mixta @ El Marino – Dover, NJ

El Marino’s arroz chaufa mixta is also excellent, a large plate of soy sauce-flavored fried rice with substantial pieces of beef and chicken, green onions, scrambled egg, and, in a nice flourish, topped with pieces of toasted wonton skin. The portions are large — a ceviche and arroz chaufa alone can feed four people easily. With family-friendly prices, you get plenty of bang for your buck here, without sacrificing quality, or even presentation. In downtown Dover, another Peruvian spot — Las Tres Marias (88 North Sussex Street, Dover) – serves the best chicha morada, a purple corn drink flavored with cloves and cinnamon.

Arroz Chaufa Especial @ Don Julio – Elizabeth, NJ

Turn back southeast and venture into Union County to find more Peruvian food in Elizabeth, New Jersey’s fourth largest city. Don Julio (50 Marshall Street, Elizabeth), a neighborhood restaurant facing the Elizabeth waterfront, is the perfect place to sample Peruvian “Chifa” (from the Mandarin “to eat rice”) cuisine. Chinese-influenced Peruvian specialties like arroz chaufa , lomo saltado (stir fried beef) and tallarines (noodles) are served family-style. Don Julio has two separate menus, the “Peruvian” and the “Chifa.” From the latter, you can choose from eight versions of chaufa — shellfish, shrimp, chicken, beef, roast pork, Chinese sausage, vegetable, or my favorite, the Chaufa Especial, which shows up with a little bit of everything. The cafeteria-style dining room in the back of the restaurant fills with large families. The wonton soup, for six people, arrives at your table in one huge bowl.

Sopa @ El Palacio del Pollo – West Orange, NJ

Our final stop is in Essex County, where there is yet another cluster of no-frills Peruvian restaurants in West Orange. I recommend Misty’s (277 Main Street), where there is a wall mural of Machu Picchu, complete with Inca warriors, and another good Yuca a la Huancaina. Our Peruvian food tour, however, ends a few miles away in Montclair, a decidedly upscale restaurant town without a sizeable Peruvian-American population. Anticipating the global trend, New Jersey now boasts fancier Peruvian spots like Costanera (511 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair) that are introducing Peruvian cuisine to new audiences. A sleek dining destination, Costanera’s menu is more limited, the plates are smaller, and prices are higher than the typical Jersey Peruvian spot, but the core ingredients and Peruvian flavors are the same, with excellent ceviches, causas (mashed potato salads) and arroz chaufa. Before opening Costanera in 2010, chef Juan Placencia had trained at the Culinary Institute of America and cooked in the kitchens of Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Tom Colicchio, but he learned the New Jersey-Peruvian restaurant business at his parents’ restaurant, Oh! Calamares in Kearny.

Picante de Mariscos @ Costanera – Montclair, NJ

New Jersey’s Inca Food Trail runs through six counties from Kearny to Montclair. If the history of New Jersey ethnic restaurants is any guide, Costanera may signal a coming wave of Peruvian restaurants that will bring Peruvian food from traditionally Peruvian-American neighborhoods into the rest of New Jersey. From Passaic, from Dover, or from Elizabeth, who knows where the next generation of Peruvian restaurateurs will set up shop in New Jersey? For fans of global cuisine in New Jersey, this is a very good thing.

An original version of this post appeared as “Food Geography: New Jersey’s Inca Trail” in Edible Jersey Magazine (Summer 2013).

]]>http://ethnicnj.com/new-jerseys-inca-food-trail/feed/4The Many Flavors of Desi Jerseyhttp://ethnicnj.com/the-many-flavors-of-desi-jersey/
http://ethnicnj.com/the-many-flavors-of-desi-jersey/#commentsWed, 01 May 2013 14:00:43 +0000http://ethnicnj.com/?p=9622Indian food is fairly easy to find across New Jersey these days. Most Indian restaurants serve familiar dishes, the curries, kebabs and flatbreads originating in North Indian regions, like the Punjab. It takes a little more work, however, to find India’s other regional specialties, the South Indian dosas, Gujarati dhoklas and Indo-Chinese chili chicken Hakka style sought out by Indian-Americans.

Rasam @ Swagath Gourmet

While Jersey City’s “Little India” (Newark Avenue), Parsippany (along Route 46), and Cherry Hill (outside Camden) boast clusters of eateries featuring the rich variety of South Asian cuisine, it is the Route 27/Route 1 corridor from Woodbridge to South Brunswick that is home to some of the best and most diverse Indian food New Jersey’s South Asian community has to offer.

Sweets @ Jassi Sweets

The two-mile stretch of Oak Tree Road from Iselin to Edison is the place in Jersey to sample Indian food that goes beyond, way beyond, the typical Indian dishes familiar to most Americans of non–South Asian ancestry. With over a hundred thousand Indian residents, suburban Middlesex County has the third-largest Asian Indian community in the United States; only Santa Clara, California, and Queens, New York, have larger Indian populations. South Asian, or “Desi,” immigrants have transformed this area in little more than a single generation. In the 1970s, the combination of Indian professionals living in Jersey City and Queens looking for suburban homes; strong public schools near high-tech employers; and commercial strips losing business to malls sparked the rapid growth of the Indian community centered around Oak Tree Road. Thanks to this concentration, “Oak Tree Road has a greater density and variety of Indian restaurants than any other Desi community in the country,” says Chitra Agrawal, an Indian-American food blogger and cooking teacher who grew up in New Jersey. “Relatives visiting from India know about Oak Tree Road and ask to eat there.”

Enjoying Fresh Sugar Cane Juice @ Jassi Sweets

Swagath Gourmet

Like the words “Mexican” or “Chinese,” “Indian” is the catchall American description of what is, in fact, many regional cuisines (and often the shared historical cuisines of India’s South Asian neighbors—Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka). North Indian and Punjabi cuisine might be most familiar—meat dishes cooked with intense spice mixes (masalas) or grilled in a tandoor oven; flatbreads (roti, paratha, naan); deep-fried fritters (pakoras) and hearty rice biryanis—but Indian cuisine ranges far and wide. India comprises 35 different states and territories, after all. Many Indians are vegetarians, a diet reflected in India’s regional cuisines. South Indian food, mostly vegetarian, features sambar (spicy lentil stew), dosas (rice-and-lentil crepes) and idli (steamed rice cakes). Gujarati dishes highlight vegetables, chutneys and sweets. Indo-Chinese restaurants blend Indian spices with Chinese specialties for an entirely unique cuisine. It can all be found along Oak Tree Road, straddling the parkway at Exit 131.

Vada (Lentil Donuts) @ Swagath Gourmet

There are so many South Asian restaurants tucked into Oak Tree Road’s strip mall shopping plazas, it is difficult to know where to start. Agrawal, who visits often, starts on the eastern end in the Iselin section of Woodbridge. She recommends Jassi Sweets Center (12 Marconi Ave., at the corner of Oak Tree Road) for savory Punjabi snacks like papri chaat (crunchy chips, yogurt and sweet and spicy chutneys) and boondi raita (fried balls of chickpea flour in spiced yogurt). I tried the excellent samosa chaat (fried samosa chunks instead of chips) on a recent visit, but what drew my attention was the colorful dessert case filled with sweets, rivaling any well-stocked Italian bakery counter. While I ordered a few pieces of the homemade gulab jamun (milk dumplings soaked in rose-flavored sugar syrup) to go, proprietor Jaswant Singh offered everyone in the shop samples of sweet sesame-seed balls, warm and fresh out of the oven. Apparently, this dessert has no specific name, it’s just a sweet he created. The balls are delicious—crumbly, but held together with moist, melted raw sugar. I ordered a small box to go. Two other customers, sisters Amna and Rabia Hakim, insisted I not leave the shop without trying the freshly pressed sugarcane juice, which they consider the best on Oak Tree Road. At their suggestion, I ordered mine with a little added spice (masala). The result is a refreshing, not too sweet, cold drink with hints of ginger and spice, sort of a South Asian “Arnold Palmer” made with chai.

Onion and Chili Uttappam @ Swagath Gourmet

To experience the cuisine of South India as it might be served in Bangalore, go to the other end of Oak Tree Road to Edison’s all-vegetarian Swagath Gourmet (1700 Oak Tree Rd., westbound side). After taking a seat in the no-frills dining room, you are immediately served a small silver bowl of warm rasam, a sweet and spicy tamarind-flavored soup. The snack-sized dishes on the menu include vada (fritters), idli and the ubiquitous South Indian dosas (see sidebar). All are served with sambar, the spicy lentil stew, and at least one chutney, typically coconut and chili. Uttapam—thick rice-and-lentil pancakes —are also excellent for dipping. The intensely spiced rice dishes are also not to be missed at Swagath. Puliyogare, a rice specialty blended with tamarind and 14 herbs and spices is one of the most powerful plates of rice I’ve ever tasted. Every dish is served, literally, on a silver platter.

Jhupdi

To sample the cuisine of Gujarat, a Western Indian state and the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, turn left and look for Jhupdi (1679 Oak Tree Rd., eastbound side), an Oak Tree Road standby for 13 years. From the comfortable wooden booths, one can gaze upon a tranquil rural village scene hand-painted along one wall. There is space for larger groups to feast while seated on the floor among plush pillows and woven floor coverings. For an appetizer, try the delicate khoman dhoklas, steamed chickpea flour cakes that taste like cornbread. The sweetness of the cakes contrasts nicely with the accompanying spicy chutneys. The samosa chaat here, a plate of fried samosa pieces covered with yogurt, chopped onions, green chutney and sweet chutney, blends sweet and spicy, soft and crunchy in a single, delectable spoonful.

Thali Platter @ Jhupdi

Dhoklas @ Jhupdi

Order a thali platter as a main course to sample many different Gujarati vegetable preparations, dips and breads. A thalihere can be an adventure for the uninitiated and those with no working knowledge of the Gujarati language, like my wife and me. The Jhupdi Special thali we ordered arrived at the table on a steel platter with 10 different items in small metal containers, surrounding two millet-flour flatbreads (bajri rotla) for dipping. The waiter also placed a glass of buttermilk (chhas) on the table, which apparently comes with the platter. None of the vegetable mixtures was immediately identifiable for us, so we started tasting and guessing. The tastes included a sweet grain flavored with cardamom, a yellow spicy mashed potato, a split-lentil mixture (urad daal), a roasted eggplant salad (baigan bharatha), a squash-like vegetable mix, a yellow grain with green chilies, a chickpea-flour soup (kadhi), yogurt dip (raita), an obviously spicy red pepper we were afraid to touch, a crumbly sugary sweet, and a piece of what looked like a dark brown date. After we had sampled everything else, I encouraged my wife to try the date. She popped a small piece in her mouth and immediately chugged the buttermilk. Turns out, it wasn’t a fruit; it was a chili-garlic paste whose heat range hit somewhere near the top of the Scoville scale. Oops.

Samosa Chaat @ Jhupdi

Spice addicts can easily become addicted to the chili garlic noodles at Ming (1655 Oak Tree Rd., eastbound side), an upscale Indo-Chinese restaurant in the same shopping center as the Big Cinemas Bollywood multiplex. Essentially lo mein noodles at Indian spice levels, the garlic and chili oil packs an irresistible wallop. I couldn’t stop eating these noodles (which I had with chicken and egg) as sweat beaded on my brow. Ming’s menu includes a wonderfully spicy-sour coriander soup, cauliflower Manchurian, and chili chicken Hakka style. “Hakka” refers to the Chinese ethnic group from Guangdong and Fujian provinces who settled the original Chinatowns of Calcutta, India. Chinese Hakka dishes met Indian masalas and Indo-Chinese cuisine was born.

Moghul

Except for the upscale spots, like Ming and Moghul (right next door, emphasizing North Indian dishes and tandoori-grilled meats and breads), you’ll likely see few non-Indian customers at most Oak Tree Road restaurants. Language is generally not a problem for non-Hindi speakers, however, since most servers speak English. Menus may not translate everything, so don’t be shy about asking questions, especially if you are unsure about ingredients or spiciness.

Big Cinemas Bollywood

One way to tell Jersey Indian restaurants apart, aside from vegetarian versus nonvegetarian menus and North Indian versus other regional cuisines, is by whether the default spice level of dishes has been reduced for (perceived) American tastes. Compare the food at Moghul and Ming’s sister restaurant, Mehndi, in Morristown, for example, with any Oak Tree Road Indian, and you will taste the difference. My spice-management strategy is to order a glass of lassi, the slightly salty, often fruit-flavored, yogurt drink with every Indian meal. Now, I know to add chhas and sugarcane juice to my drink roster. If anything sets your mouth on fire, a quick sip will douse the pain. It is a small price to pay to experience all the flavors of Desi Jersey on Oak Tree Road.

An original version of this post appeared as “Flavors of India” in Edible Jersey Magazine (Spring 2013).

]]>http://ethnicnj.com/the-many-flavors-of-desi-jersey/feed/0Monmouth County Mexicanhttp://ethnicnj.com/monmouth-county-mexican/
http://ethnicnj.com/monmouth-county-mexican/#commentsFri, 01 Mar 2013 16:40:19 +0000http://ethnicnj.com/?p=9595Authentic Mexican restaurants are sprouting up all over the Garden State, many in unexpected places. More than 200,000 New Jersey residents claimed Mexican ancestry in the 2010 Census, the second-largest Hispanic ethnic group after Puerto Rican. Ten percent of them live in Monmouth County. And two towns, in particular, have become enclaves for outstanding Mexican cuisine.

Tacos al Pastor @ La Valentina – Long Branch, NJ

Bahia de Acapulco – Freehold, NJ

Freehold, once known more for being a signpost on the back roads to the Shore and the hometown of Bruce Springsteen, today boasts a half-dozen Mexican restaurants. There are a couple of Tex- Mex places on Main Street that attract a mixed crowd, including many non-Latinos. But just around the corner, on the side streets, are the no-frills storefronts serving true Mexican comfort food, mostly to the local Mexican-American community. La Nueva Placita is a small market with a food counter serving tacos, tortas (sandwiches), sopes, tamales and tlayudas (“Mexican pizzas”), among other traditional Mexican food.

El Oaxaqueno – Long Branch, NJ

The menu at Fonda Bahia de Acapulco on South Street in Freehold emphasizes home-style Mexican cooking. Miguel Gonzáles, who cooks there, says most of the customers hail from the Mexican states of Puebla, famous for its mole poblano, and Oaxaca, where chicken is served with the even darker mole negro. “Mexicans will order different tacos, fish dishes, and specialties like the sombrero ranchero—grilled beef, chicken, cactus, peppers and onions served in a stone molcajete with queso fresco,” says Gonzáles. “Non-Mexicans tend to order the burritos and enchiladas.” Oaxacan tlayudas—a large, thin, fried tortilla covered with beans, meat, pork lard, cabbage, cheese and avocado—are on the menu at La Nueva Placita, a small market with a food counter next to the train tracks on Throckmorton Street.

El Burrito de Pollo @ El Oaxaqueno – Long Branch, NJ

Head east from Freehold on Routes 18 and 36 to Long Branch, birthplace of both Dorothy Parker and Springsteen, and you will find one of the highest concentrations of family-runMexican restaurants in New Jersey. Once the summer seaside retreat of U.S. presidents, downtown Long Branch today is a year-round destination for eating hearty comida auténtica at one of a dozen Mexican places along Broadway. Order the shrimp tacos at Acapulqueños Mexican Grill, a comfortable spot owned by Acapulco natives.

Chicharrones @ La Valentina – Long Branch, NJ

El Oaxaqueño is one of the best Mexican spots in town. As soon as you walk in, you’ll note the telltale signs of a good ethnic restaurant: a huge handpainted mural along one wall, television in the native tongue of the proprietors, and unlabeled spicy condiments on the table. The dining room has about a dozen tables and does a bustling takeout business from the front counter, where pollos rostizados (rotisserie chickens) turn bronze and crispy. Service is attentive, friendly and more or less bilingual, though knowing some Spanish will certainly help. A basket of homemade tortilla chips quickly arrives to accompany the spicy salsas, a red mole and a green tomatillo. On one visit, my daughter ordered a chicken burrito, filled with shreds of that slowroasted chicken, which could have fed a small family. Try the chicken with mole Oaxaqueño, a powerful, spicy and complex sauce colored so red it’s almost black. Sample the traditional molcajete Oaxaqueño as well, washing it down with a cane sugar Mexican soda (toronja—grapefruit—is my favorite flavor), or a licuado— fruit shake.

La Valentina – Long Branch, NJ

For some of the best Mexican tacos anywhere in New Jersey, do not miss Taquería La Valentina, a food counter and café tucked into the back of a grocery store on Broadway. Enter through the narrow aisles stacked high with Mexican goods under piñatas hanging from the ceiling, or through the back entrance from the parking lot. Freshly made tortillas have an unmatched toasted corn flavor and chewy grilled texture, and La Valentina’s are made right there behind the counter. Tacos are available with 13 different fillings, from lengua (beef tongue) to barbacoa de chivo (shredded barbecued goat) to tripa (tripe), and everything in between. The taco al pastor (marinated pork) I ordered was served in tasty soft tortillas with chopped onion, pineapple and cilantro, accompanied by radish slices, a roasted scallion and whole hot pepper on the side. Squirt some lime juice over it all and it is the perfect Mexican mouthful—or three. Ana Ochoa, the enthusiastic proprietor from Jalisco, added the Taquería to the grocery two years ago. While a success with her Mexican customers, she says the food counter gets few non-Mexican customers. “We would welcome them to try our food,” she adds in Spanish, smiling broadly.

Acapulqueños Mexican Grill – Long Branch, NJ

Entrepreneurs abound in New Jersey’s family-owned Mexican restaurants. Down the street from El Oaxaqueño, brothers Giddel and Fredy Gonzáles Estrada have opened Rokamar Restaurant, taking over the space from another Mexican eatery. The brothers had worked in other New JerseyMexican restaurants while saving money to open their own. After three years looking for the right opportunity, they chose to invest in the Long Branch location. According to Giddel, “There’s still room in Long Branch for new places. It’s a nice town with a large Mexican community.”

Shrimp Tacos @ Acapulquenos Mexican Grill – Long Branch, NJ

As in Freehold, the best Mexican food in Long Branch isn’t chain restaurant “Mexican” where the menu has been diluted for perceived North American tastes. Instead, in most of these restaurants at least two-thirds of the customers are Mexican. Some dishes on the menu—tacos de cuerito (pork-skin tacos) or chilaquiles (fried tortilla strips smothered in red or green mole)—may be unfamiliar to non- Mexicans. Most restaurants are simple establishments where you can eat a lot for a fair price: three overflowing tacos cost around six dollars. While English is often the second language, menus include English translations and most servers speak some English. But a language barrier won’t keep you from enjoying some of New Jersey’s most delicious—and authentic—Mexican food.

Miguel Gonzáles of Freehold’s Fonda Bahia de Acapulco is from Mexico City, so I asked him where to find typical Mexico City food in New Jersey. He has yet to find a spot for carne suadero tacos or chicharron prensado (pressed pork rinds), two staples of the Mexican capital, but he’s heard of a Lakewood food truck serving some Mexico City items. Time to break out the map and head to Ocean County.

An original version of this post appeared as “Edible Escape: Comida Mexicana al Gusto” in Edible Jersey Magazine (Winter 2012-2013).

]]>http://ethnicnj.com/monmouth-county-mexican/feed/0EthnicNJ’s Top Ten Meals of 2012http://ethnicnj.com/ethnicnjs-top-ten-meals-of-2012/
http://ethnicnj.com/ethnicnjs-top-ten-meals-of-2012/#commentsMon, 31 Dec 2012 14:55:19 +0000http://ethnicnj.com/?p=9317Keeping tabs on New Jersey’s best ethnic food is my excuse to sample all kinds of dishes across the Garden State. Like always, 2012 was an excellent year for ethnic eating in Jersey.

New Jersey’s Best Sandwich? @ Hamburgão – Kearny, NJ

I definitely ate my fill – from Main Street, Paterson to Edison’s Oak Tree Road; from German food in the Skylands to Mexican down the Shore – and then some. Many restaurants made it onto the EthnicNJ map for the first time. Thanks to everyone who has visited, contributed and commented, EthnicNJ.com now features 750 of New Jersey’s best ethnic restaurants. Keep the tips coming and EthnicNJ will keep searching out the best food New Jersey has to offer.

Ceviche Trio @ El Marino – Dover, NJ

Among the places I visited this year, a few meals stand out from rest. These are my ten most memorable meals of 2012. The common thread is good food, but that’s usually just part of the story. Each meal on this list brought together food, people and surroundings for an unforgettable food experience.

Happy New Year New Jersey! May 2013 bring you plenty of Jersey food memories like these.

The ribs and brisket were so good here that we ordered two big trays of meat for our oldest daughter’s Sweet Sixteen party. Turns out the chopped BBQ Chicken, slathered with North Carolina flavors, is even better!

This Spanish fine food importer opens its warehouse to the public on the first Saturday of every month in the Spring. Sample Serrano ham, Manchego cheese, and homemade chorizo. The gregarious proprietor, Conrad, may pour you some wine while you shop and snack.

The simplicity of the single taco I ate on my first visit was disarming and delicious. La Valentina became my favorite Mexican restaurant in New Jersey and a featured spot in my article for Edible Jersey magazine.

The centerpiece of my Ethnic Food Tour of Paterson, NJ with Mayor Domenick Stampone of Haledon and and Jersey Bites founder Deborah Smith, Al-Helal offered a glimpse of the rich Middle Eastern fare available in Passaic County.

Before launching EthnicNJ.com, I never would have found a source for Portuguese whole roast suckling pig. Arriving at our friends’ backyard dinner this summer with a pig in a box made quite an impression, especially after tasting the paper-thin, crispy skin and melt-in-your-mouth pork.

On a cold January Saturday, the whole family ventured to this Japanese supermarket food court in Bergen County, where we enjoyed the most satisfying bowls of steaming broth, meat, vegetables and noodles, contentedly slurping it all up. Happiness is a hot bowl of soup.

]]>http://ethnicnj.com/ethnicnjs-top-ten-meals-of-2012/feed/2Stay Strong New Jersey!http://ethnicnj.com/stay-strong-new-jersey/
http://ethnicnj.com/stay-strong-new-jersey/#commentsThu, 01 Nov 2012 07:58:21 +0000http://ethnicnj.com/?p=9269The devastating impact of this week’s historic storm is now apparent to all New Jerseyans, from Bergen to Cape May, from Trenton to Point Pleasant. Many of us without power are just now catching glimpses of the images of destruction. I know that neighbors are helping neighbors. Everyone in Jersey will lift each other up, and many others will lend a hand.

Prayers for those lost, praise for first responders and strength to all. Storms pass. New Jersey will recover.

Check out the new logo, design and features that make it easier to find the best ethnic food in New Jersey. Filter the EthnicNJ map by cuisine, by county, or just show the best food close by. With over 700 restaurants serving some fifty different cuisines, EthnicNJ has all the information you need to find and eat New Jersey’s best ethnic food.

Along with a map to get you there, a review if EthnicNJ has visited, and links to the information we found helpful.

In the two years since EthnicNJ launched, our readership has grown dramatically. Thank you to everyone who has visited, contributed and commented, helping us find and map hundreds of New Jersey’s best ethnic restaurants. Keep the tips coming. If there’s an ethnic gem in your neighborhood, let us know about it.